Perth Bears recruitment manager Dane Campbell wants to sign 10 players by Christmas but admits the WA franchise may have to pay over market price to land players.
With a budget of $11.95 million to spend on 36 players, Campbell can speak to several stars from November 1, including Payne Haas, Viliame Kikau, Luke Metcalf, Jayden Campbell, Josh Addo-Carr, Harry Grant, Jahream Bula and Tyran Wishart.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Campbell, who was the recruitment and pathways manager for the Broncos and spent a decade working across similar roles with the Storm and Cowboys, said the way the Bears handle business, could be similar to how the Raiders attack the player market.
The report claims Canberra officials often need to pay between 10 to 15 per cent more to attract an established star to the nation’s capital.
And Campbell, who hopes to avoid player agents using the new franchise as bargaining chip in other negotations, understands luring good players could come at a premium.
“It might not necessarily be the high earners, it might be that middle tier to lower bracket.
“They might be making some decisions about where they’ve grown up and they might have a similar opportunity at a Sydney-based club.
“As an example, if you’re playing for Cronulla on $200,000 and Parramatta offer you $220,000, you might decide to go there because you don’t change houses, you’re just driving in a different direction.
“Whereas for us, if we’re offering that same player on $220,000, that $20,000 extra, or that 10 per cent mark, that may not convince someone to go to Perth because they’ve got to get a new house, they will be away from family, there’s a whole lot of factors to consider.
“For the top earners, Perth is a wonderful city and they aren’t necessarily the ones who will be disadvantaged in that sense. It’s more the middle to low tier that we need to be really strategic around …
“They key is that, whoever comes, that they come for the right reason for us to be successful. Identifying the character of the person and what they want out of their careers is huge for us.”
Campbell acknowledged that he may have to think outside the box, and South African rugby union could definitely be an option.
He said it’s totally feasible to have 10 player signed by Christmas Campbell but there was no rush to finalise the roster ahead of its entry into the NRL in 2027.
“We are mindful we don’t have to have a roster of 30 done by Christmas time this year,” he said.
“If we’ve got 10 players signed by Christmas, we’ve done incredibly well. The rest can be built out by next year.”
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